SF Holdings announced its plan to issue overseas listed foreign shares (H-shares) and apply for listing on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange,On the evening of August 1st.
SF Holdings, established in 1993 and headquartered in Shenzhen, has become a leading domestic integrated express logistics service provider and the fourth-largest express delivery company globally.
According to SF's annual report for 2022, the company achieved a revenue of CNY 267.49 billion（USD 3.951 billion）, a year-on-year increase of 29.11%. The net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was CNY 6.174 billion（USD 960 million）, a year-on-year increase of 44.62%. The net profit after deducting non-recurring items was CNY 5.337 billion（USD 831 million）, a year-on-year increase of 190.97%. The earnings per share were CNY 1.27 per share. Since 2016, SF Holdings has been expanding its urban business, which has experienced explosive growth. In 2022, urban businesses achieved a revenue of CNY 6.44 billion , an increase of 28.6%. SF Urban continues to explore new consumer service scenarios, maintaining stable business growth and providing services in areas such as cake and flower delivery, fresh produce in supermarkets, and collaborating with major platforms to find synergies between live-streaming e-commerce and instant delivery services.
According to data from iiMedia Research, the express delivery service industry in China has maintained a steady upward trend in business volume from 2015 to 2022. In 2021, due to the fluctuations caused by the pandemic, the business volume of Chinese express delivery service companies grew by 29.9% to reach 108.31 billion pieces. As of June 30, 2022, the national express delivery business volume has exceeded 51.22 billion pieces, with a year-on-year growth rate of 3.7%. The cumulative revenue of the Chinese express delivery industry reached CNY 498.22 billion, a year-on-year increase of 2.9%. In the future, the deep integration of express delivery and manufacturing will further accelerate.
According to the information on SF's official website, SF has launched the "Wolf Pack Program" targeting the Southeast Asian market. The program aims to achieve business goals by establishing a reward and punishment system for dedicated sales personnel in Southeast Asia. It mainly focuses on export business from China to Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. SF's founder, Wang Wei, once said at an entrepreneur forum, "The market fundamentally does not believe in the randomness of success. All success comes from inevitability."
In the domestic express delivery market, SF Express（Chinese：顺丰速递）, YTO Express（Chinese：圆通速递）, and ZTO Express（Chinese：中通速递）are the leading companies. These companies hold important positions in the domestic express delivery market and have extensive network coverage and efficient logistics operations. In the international market, companies such as FedEx（Chinese：联邦快递）, UPS（Chinese：易速递）, and DHL（Chinese：德国邮政） are the major players.
SF Holdings stated that it will fully consider the interests of existing shareholders and the domestic and overseas capital markets. Within the effective period of the resolution of the shareholders' meeting (i.e., 18 months from the date of approval by the company's shareholders' meeting or any other extended period agreed upon), it will choose an appropriate timing and issuance window to complete the issuance and listing. SF Holdings' listing in Hong Kong will facilitate its expansion into overseas markets, enhance its international influence, and increase its financing channels and capital strength, which will have a significant impact on the development and competitive landscape of the express delivery and logistics industry.